


Pretty Boy

by CallisaRose



Category: EXO (Band), NCT (Band), SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: 101 Dalmatians References, ADHD Lucas, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, F/M, M/M, Sexual Content, Underage Drinking, but they're all adults
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:21:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28708098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallisaRose/pseuds/CallisaRose
Summary: Lucas spluttered. It made him miss Mark, suddenly. He always felt way less awkward when Mark was around to do the spluttering.
Relationships: Lee Taemin & Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Taemin/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 16
Kudos: 28





	Pretty Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my friends for reading this and encouraging me when my initial energy died off. for a week. This sat here basically unchanged for a week while I whined about it. RR and AO3 user Behkoon get beta credit. AO3 user Chikoo gets head cheerleader. AO3 user sunshineandeyebrows just has my heart
> 
> ACTUALLY KIND OF IMPORTANT- in this fic, Beta is a frat. There is no a/b/o in this fic, nor will there be any a/b/o in this fic. Beta = fraternity. k. got it? excellent. 
> 
> Okay, so I haven't wanted to write in ages and then I watched Taemin's Idea stage 800 times and as ever, the fic immediately sprinted towards humor. So here we are. I actually wrote a thing. It makes me happy. Hope you enjoy too!!!

They were untouchable. Legends. Gods. People actually paused mid-conversation to look when they went by. It was absolutely ridiculous. 

“Seriously, they don’t care about any of us. Why do any of us care about them?” Lucas huffed, watching Mark’s glasses literally fog up from the sigh he let out watching them go by. 

“What are you talking about? They don’t need to care about us. They have everything!” 

“Yeah, except a third friend.” 

Mark shot him a glare while Taeyong giggled into his sweater paws. It was the beginning of Spring semester and campus was dusted in a light layer of snow. Everything looked like a New England dream, just one dropped in the middle of Ohio.

“Actually I think that they’re friends with that Beta guy? The singer?” Taeyong grabbed Lucas’s unzipped jacket, tucking himself inside. Lucas wrapped an arm around him, Taeyong never wore enough clothing. 

“Okay, fine. The three of them have another friend. Each of them has three friends. Wow, I’m so jealous.”

“Even you have to admit they’re pretty.”

“Of course I think they’re pretty! Never said I didn’t. But you know who else is pretty? That DG girl I met through anime club! The rugby girl who fucked me on the Library roof! That acapella dude who blew me in the Chapel! And none of them walk around like god’s gift to man.”

Taeyong giggled again, “I can’t believe you just said one of the acapella guys doesn’t have an ego. You know they all think they’re the greatest gift to campus gender equality since… well, since those same guys decided that wearing pink made them feminists.”

“I still think they’re cool too.” Mark’s crossed arms and little pout let Lucas know they were about one joke away from actually annoying their friend. Tempting though it was, Mark was the only one of the three of them with a friend who worked at the bookstore. And he really didn’t want to stand in that check-out line at the beginning of a new semester.

Ninety minutes and one very put-out Mark Lee later, they left the student union, balancing their new textbooks.

“I hate you so fucking much, man.” 

“You said that already! And it’s not like it’s my fault they moved him to restocking.”

“Still, you suck and I’m never letting you forget it.”

“I can’t feel my fingers. I feel like that puppy from 101 Dalmatians.”

“Yong, there are like 99 puppies in that movie. You may need to be more specific.”

“Just cause your man failed you, don’t take it out on baby Yong.”

Mark spluttered, “Hyuck is not my man! He’s just a friend I made last semester. And I can’t believe you’re taking his side. This is roommate nepotism and I will not stand for it.”

“You will stand for it because not-your-man failed you and that means you’ve failed us. So I’m allowed to be nicer to my roommate cause Yong will never betray me, right Yong?”

“My nose is froze, and my ears are froze, and my toes are froze…”

“Wow, the betrayal! Also, you forgot to say that your tail is froze.”

“But I’m not wearing my tail.”

Mark spluttered again. Lucas shifted his books so he could clap him on the back, then high-five his shivering roommate.

“I swear. Why am I friends with either of you?”

“Cause we lived on the same floor last year and everyone else thought you were weird for bringing a rice cooker.”

“And then made fun of you when you cried because security found out you had the rice cooker and took it away.”

“I still can’t believe they let girls have hair styling crap, but I’m not allowed a microwave or rice cooker.”

“At least they let you keep your electric kettle, grandpa.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A week later found Lucas tucked into a corner of the stacks, nursing a tea Mark had handed him on his way out of the dorm. He usually studied in the more open lounge area of the library, but he actually had a paper to write before the weekend. The thing he hated most about their school was that they took the liberal arts banner seriously. There was no such thing as an easy requirement to fill, and he could already tell that this philosophy class was going to bite him in the ass. 

Halfway through his frustrated internal monologue about how neither Descartes nor Locke would survive middle school in the modern world, he became aware of a hushed conversation happening behind him. 

“— worst he’d do, bite you?” was followed by a snort.

“And if I want him to?”

“Do it on your own time, you slutty Gumby.”

“Fuck off, Deney Terrio.”

Lucas rummaged in his bag for his headphones. Slutty Gumby sounded like a fun person to know, but he wasn’t about to intrude on a conversation to ask which of the men behind him liked being bitten. He made a mental note to never tell Taeyong he’d passed up finding out whether Gumby really was into biting or not. He didn’t want to be murdered by a feral kitten-player. 

He was in the middle of plotting ways to sneak a peek for Taeyong when a hand shot out, stopping him from putting the second earbud in. Lucas jumped, then swore when that made him tug on the first earbud.

“Sorry to bother you,” Lucas looked up to meet a pair of dancing eyes. “Would you mind if I sat with you? I’ve been voted off Friendship Island by the jackasses behind me.”

If Lucas were a weaker man, he’d have rolled his eyes. Of course Slutty Gumby was one of the dancing triumvirate. At least that narrowed things down for Taeyong’s sake. “You can just take the chair if you want.”

The eyes crinkled in a deeper smile, “That’s sweet, but they’re plotting my academic demise, so they don’t want me at the table with them.”

“Why would you go to the library with friends if you can’t sit with your friends?”

“My ostracism was unplanned.”

“Ten, can you please shut the fuck up? You literally just said you didn’t need our help on your assignment, and we have papers to write.” Lucas glanced back to where Taemin Lee and Jongin Kim were unpacking their bags. “If you sit with us, we’ll end up doing your Econ for you and I’ll be stuck with these old assholes this weekend.” Taemin waved a book as he spoke. The same book that Lucas wanted to burn in a trashcan with sage and paprika and whatever else may protect his GPA from Philosophy 101.

“Oh, cool! I’m working on that paper too! You must be in the other section!”

Taemin smirked, “I sit four seats away from you.”

Lucas frowned. That didn’t seem right. He would have noticed if they were in the same class as… “Oh! I guess I didn’t recognize you as a _you_ and not, like, all of you!”

No one else seemed impressed with his skillful deduction. In fact, Ten looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh, Jongin looked shocked, and Taemin looked… well, constipated?

“What’s your name, handsome?” Lucas turned back to Ten before pointing to the rumpled name tag that was on top of his stack of spiral notebooks. His name was written across it in massive letters, big enough for students to see across the room in his environmental science class.

“Ah, so you’re Lucas Wong then?”

“You make it sound like people talk about me.”

“Eh, only people who want to sleep with you or people who have slept with you. So, that’s like… half of campus?”

Lucas spluttered. It made him miss Mark, suddenly. He always felt way less awkward when Mark was around to do the spluttering. “Have you guys heard of my friend, Mark?”

“No, why? He sleep with more people than you?”

“Uh, no. I was just thinking that if he was here I’d be less awkward. He’s like a Canadian security blanket.” Mark really was right. All three of them were ridiculously pretty. It shouldn’t be allowed for three people to look so ethereal in the stacks on a Tuesday afternoon.

Ten looked ready to laugh again. “So, Lucas, do you always talk before thinking or are we just making you nervous?”

Lucas’s shoulder spasmed in some approximation of a shrug. “Little bit of column A, little bit of column B. Oh! Wait, before I forget which of you is Slutty Gumby? And is the biting thing a joke or, like, something you’re down with?”

This time Ten actually did laugh. “At your service, you beautiful, oversized hunk of man.”

“That was oddly specific. Do you like biting?”

“I’m certainly not opposed, are you offering?”

Lucas froze, “Oh gosh. No! Oh, man, no. Not like, an ew-no kind of no. Just an I-think-my-friend-would-be-into-that-so-no kind of no.”

Ten looked a bit like those bird ladies from Harry Potter when he cocked his head. All pointy and unfairly sexy. Lucas glanced just above his shoulder to make sure Ten hadn’t sprouted wings yet. He noticed that Jongin and Taemin had started working. Apparently they didn’t need headphones to tune Ten out. “And you and this friend don’t share kinks? Or you and this friend don’t share people?”

Lucas returned his attention to Ten, deciding that he should actually try and think this time before answering. He didn’t want to see if Angry Ten could grow a beak and throw fire, after all. Or at least not while they were surrounded by books. He let his back fold over the back of the chair, feeling the satisfying crack that only shitty short chairs could provide him with. When the world was right-side-up again he decided he had thought enough to answer. “Overlap in both happens, and is fine, but I feel like it would be gross to sleep with someone if I was just seeing how compatible they might be with my friend. Like, shouldn’t I just introduce that person to my friend and let the two of them decide?”

Ten regarded him curiously. He really did look like a Veela. To save himself the embarrassment of sharing that synapse connection with the older boys, Lucas glanced back to where Jongin and Taemin had settled in. They’d pulled out some weird healthy-looking drinks that probably had spinach, ginger, and cayenne in them. Lucas ate more than enough vegetables but consuming them in drinks just seemed masochistic. And not in the fun way.

In the middle of deciding that all three of them could pass for Veela, Ten responded— reminding Lucas that he was still having a (very unusual) conversation. “Yeah, that’s a good reason not to sleep with someone. Anyway, mind if I sit?”

“Oh, of course! I know nothing about Econ, so I couldn’t help you if I tried. Well, I know I’m a pretty great consumer because I still suck at saving money. But I doubt that’s what you’re learning.”

“Thanks, Lucas.” Ten pulled out a chair and after a few minutes of shuffling, he got to work. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning as Lucas arranged his spiral notebook, pencil and water so they could exist harmoniously on his tiny desk, an unfamiliar body dropped into the seat beside him. He paused for a moment— the girl who thought that acting mean would make him notice her was always late and bathed in perfume. This body smelled like coffee. When he chanced a glance at his new neighbor, he found himself alarmingly close to Taemin Lee digging through a school bag. He jerked back reflexively. If two hetero boys couldn’t get their class supplies out without having to say ‘no homo’ then the desks were _definitely_ too close. Lucas made a mental note to email the desk arranging people about that. Would that be the janitorial staff? He should probably email them to thank them if anything… They worked hard and the last thing they needed was some spoiled boy asking to have more space between desks. His hypothetical no homo boys would just have to make do. And so would he. He looked back up to find Taemin looking at him too.

Taemin smirked at him. He seemed to like smirking at him. “’Morning Lucas.”

“Yeah, uh. Good morning. Taemin.” He smiled as confidently as he could, then realized that his water bottle was in elbow-knocking range and set about rearranging his desk again. He wished it took more time than it did. When he looked back up, Taemin was still watching him.

“Aren’t you and Jongin older than Ten?” 

He got an eyebrow raise at that. “Yeah, he and I took a year between high school and college.”

“Cool.” Taemin offered nothing else. “Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. My friend Taeyong did that too. He traveled around Central America building schools and stuff.”

Taemin blinked super slowly. It should have looked goofy. Somehow it suited him. Like he knew everyone thought he was better than them and put him on some weird pedestal and he was just waiting for someone to catch up. Or maybe like a cat. In cat language slow blinking meant the cat liked you. Lucas realized he was over analyzing a blink. He should start getting more sleep. 

“How was your coffee this morning?” If they were just going to stare at each other, Lucas decided that someone should do some talking. They weren’t in some film noir where words would ruin the pretentious sexual tension some white director was building.

For a second Taemin looked a bit taken aback. “Oh! I didn’t have any, but Ten and Jongin abuse their Keurig privileges. Everything in our room smells like coffee.”

“Mark doesn’t let Taeyong and I drink coffee.” Lucas lamented. “But he makes us tea every morning which is cool!”

“You’re like this without drinking coffee?”

“Oh, yeah! Definitely. You should see me when I forget to take my Adderall. It’s like…” Lucas mimed a tiny explosion in front of his face. “Well, people tell me I’m annoying like this but, it’s definitely worse those days!”

Taemin’s head did Ten’s bird tilt thing. Friends really did express similar mannerisms. Maybe Lucas should change his major to sociology or psychology or something.

“People tell you you’re annoying? To your face?”

“Yeah! Not all the time or anything ‘cause I think people mostly think it’s funny. But when I rub them the wrong way, yep. Better than them saying it behind my back though. I got that a lot as a kid and that just hurt.”

“And people telling you that you’re annoying doesn’t hurt?”

Before Lucas could respond, their professor walked in and began the lecture. He just smiled at Taemin and shrugged in answer before facing forward to pay attention. He realized that he’d stopped feeling awkward talking to him at some point. That was nice, it was probably weird having no one talk to you unless your friends were with you. He hoped Taemin would keep sitting by him. 

The girl on Lucas’s other side leaned towards him to see what he’d just written down. He scooted his arm so she could see better. He felt Taemin’s eyes on him again. As Emily copied down _What worries you, masters you_ Lucas let himself get lost in what he called his scribe headspace. Writing down key information and his thoughts on lectures came as easily as breathing when he let himself be swept along by the massive current of things he didn’t know. He’d have time to actually learn it all later when he organized and cleaned up his notes.

~*~*~

The next afternoon, Lucas finished his paper on Locke and Descartes. He planned to reward himself with a five-minute nap on his hoodie, but someone kicked his chair before he could doze off. The pits and downfalls of lounge napping. He blearily blinked up at a semi-familiar face. He shook his head slightly and a semi-familiar body came into view holding a very familiar bag. _His_ bag, to be exact. 

“Get in loser, we’re going studying.”

With that Ten waltzed away with Lucas’s bag slung across his scrawny little shoulder. After a moment admiring the strength of dancers— and another moment admiring Ten’s ass— Lucas ambled after him. 

“Two things,” Lucas said, catching up to Ten as they pushed through the door to the stacks. “One— I will not be the Cady Heron to your Regina George. Fighting over the same guy is the weakest recurring plot ever. Two— you have a nice ass.”

Ten cackled loudly, earning them a few glares as they made their way back to the corner they’d been in a few days earlier. When they got there, Jongin and Taemin were at their table and Ten hooked Lucas’s bag on the same chair from last time before folding himself into the chair across from him again. 

“Not that I mind studying here, but why?” Lucas immediately nuzzled his head back into his hoodie. It smelled like Taeyong’s detergent and Mark’s cologne. It was nice.

“I told him not to get you until after you’d slept.” Lucas mumbled in acknowledgement to Jongin. Or he assumed it was Jongin, as he somewhat knew Taemin’s voice now. For all he knew, there could be a sneaky third person hiding under their table.

“Jus’ wake me up in five minutes.” He fell asleep to them softly talking to each other— it was nice. 

The next thing he registered was a twig he was leaning against scratching at his scalp. He batted it away, but the tree just laughed then brought the twig back. The roots beneath him began shaking and he sat upright with a jolt— only to realize that the tree was Ten poking him with a pencil and kicking his chair under the table.

“Sorry, big guy, but we let you sleep 30 minutes and I was feeling guilty.”

Grumbling, Lucas sat up and tugged his Cell Biology textbook to him. He had more than 20 pages of reading to do before Monday and he’d be damned if he fell behind before the second week ended.

He had switched over to his Ecology readings when someone kicked his chair again.

“I’m going to the student union to get us dinner, what do you want?” Jongin’s second ever sentence to him confused Lucas just as much as the first.

“Why would you get me dinner?”

“Don’t you eat? It’s nearly 8 and everything on campus will close soon. And technically Taemin is paying. I’m just the bribed errand boy.”

Lucas glanced at Taemin. He got another smirk. Maybe that was the Taemin equivalent of a chipper ‘howdy doo’ or like, a fist bump. “What do you want? Assuming you can’t photosynthesize that is. Or should I buy a sun lamp for you instead?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Uh, Burger and fries? Medium rare and no lettuce please. Oh. And bacon! Um… are you sure you don’t want me to come with?”

“Honestly man, I like you, but I don’t really want to go anywhere with you.”

“Um. Oh. Okay then.”

“Relax sugar, he doesn’t go anywhere alone with Baekhyun either. People actually talk to you and that’s not his thing. Nini, just go. I’ll text you what he wants, k?” Jongin nodded and slipped away through the stacks like some svelte shadow. “Here, unlock your phone and give it to me.”

Cautiously, Lucas did as he was told. Ten spent a few minutes bouncing between their phones, then several more on Lucas’s. When he finally handed it back, mirth dancing in his eyes (was it really necessary for even his eyes to dance??), Lucas frantically scrolled through to make sure Ten hadn’t done anything embarrassing. He only found one new text thread— to Jongin. Ten had sent Lucas’s burger order and seven different sleazy comments about how he liked his meat. Based on the replies, Jongin knew it had been Ten texting him. Or he was just a _lot_ friendlier than he liked to let on. 

Blushing, Lucas stowed his phone in his pocket. He dropped his elbows on the table and tried to find his place back in his book— before it was slammed shut.

“Dude! I was reading that.”

“Yes, I know. But I’m bored and you won’t actually get much done before Jongin comes back with dinner anyway.”

Lucas considered his options. He could ignore Ten and get about 10 minutes of work done. He was _pretty_ sure that Ten would let him work if he pushed back. Only— well he was bored too. It was the second week of classes and working away from the lounge meant he’d gotten more done than he’d actually planned to that night. 

“Alright,” he cocked his head slightly to the side, “so what sort of amusements do you have planned for me then?” Keeping his chin tilted down, he raised his eyed to meet Ten’s. For one victorious moment, Ten looked captivated. Then he blinked and threw a textbook at Lucas’s head.

“You _asshole! Why_ would you threaten me with a good time that you have no intention of following through on?”

Lucas beamed. “Because you’ve probably cost me three dates making me work back here and not in the lounge. And I wanted to see if I could!”

Taemin drifted over to their table, “You study in the lounge to get dates?”

“Nah, it just. Sort of… happens? Not that I mind or anything, but it’s not, like, planned.”

“In that case, you should pay me. I’m sure you can get laid whenever you want, and those dates can’t be cheap!”

“So instead of taking people out who are nice and want to have sex with me, I should pay you for doing neither?”

“Yep. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them.” Lucas marveled at Ten’s ability to flip from fake enraged to conniving in the span of a few seconds. Or maybe the rage was buttering him up for the conniving attack, in which case he’d been conniving the whole time… he’d think on that later. Definitely before playing Among Us with him.

“Have you ever played Among Us? I feel like you’d be good at that.”

“Have you ever stayed on the same train of thought for more than a minute? I feel like you’re bad at that.”

“TEN!” Taemin looked scary when he was mad. Maybe annoyed? Either way, definitely scary—in a super sexy way.

“No, it’s fine. He’s right! It’s why I’m such an Among Us champ! Am I bad at lying or just getting distracted? Is getting distracted my way of lying? You’ll never know!”

“Okay, but do _you_ know? Like, which you’re doing?”

Lucas shot Ten a wink “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

“So basically, even you have no clue what you’re doing?”

“I don’t make the rules, I just follow them.”

To his absolute joy Taemin started laughing. He looked kind of… fluffy. Just soft and happy and Lucas knew he was going to make a conscious effort to see him like that again. Perhaps many conscious efforts. Taemin glanced at him, his eyes sparkling and open. Lucas gulped. Definitely many conscious efforts. 

A few minutes later, Jongin came back with dinner and Lucas let himself fall silent and observe the rhythm of their friendship. He had never understood the student body’s fascination with them. Watching Jongin subtly dumping apple slices into Ten’s salad and Ten’s growing annoyance, he realized he was seeing a side to them that most others didn’t get to. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“No, I swear! Soojin said that girls like… tampons. Booze… it’s a thing!”

It was Friday night, and Mark was two shots past tipsy and emphatically trying to explain a zero-calorie method of inebriation for people with vaginas. Lucas was two shots away from being able to listen to him without wanting to hurl. He threw back a shot of whisky. Great— now one shot away from not wanting to bleach his ears.

“But like… the yeast infections don’t seem worth it. That’s just such a safety risk?” Taeyong was sorting through his eyeshadow palettes and steadily making his way through a mini fridge shelf’s worth of White Claw.

“Well I never said it was a good idea or healthy, I’m just saying that if you’re calorie conscious it was apparently a thing?”

“Well I’m asking you to shut up so I can do our makeup and we can start drinking alcohol that other people paid for.”

Lucas poured a big glug— a totally accurate measurement of volume— of whisky into his cup and took a swig. “So who’s having parties tonight?”

“I think we should start at Beta, then see what else is happening at the senior apartments, then maybe work our way back to east quad? Kap Sig usually has their parties here and if it blows we’re close to our dorm and bed anyway.”

“I know I bitch about the residential campus a lot,” Mark rambled, “but I gotta say, having all our parties within a 15-minute walk is _so nice_ in this weather. Can you imagine having to walk down to town in this weather?”

“You’re so lazy. The bars are no more than 20 minutes away and once we’re of age you’ll be walking down there with us.”

Mark thrashed his head around in something resembling a shake. “Never. Lucas will carry me because he’s a soft bitch and loves me too much to say no.”

“— to this, I don’t know how to say no to this! And my god my friends are helpless. And my Markie’s saying ‘hell yes.’”

Mark jumped in with the harmonizing ‘Woah’ before Taeyong stuck a lemon wedge in his mouth. He coughed it out, then threw it at Lucas. Lucas happily squeezed it into Taeyong’s White Claw.

“Mkay, well I need you to stop squirming for a few minutes, yeah? You looked like a hooker last time I did your makeup. I’m not saying it was your fault, but there were two people involved and it sure as hell wasn’t _my_ fault.”

Immediately Mark relaxed, letting Taeyong and his brushes work their magic. Lucas settled into his desk chair and awaited his turn. Taeyong had a knack for spending a few minutes on each of them and making them look like they’d come from glamorous spa vacations or professional stylists. 

He zoned out, thinking about classes and extracurriculars. Taeyong was rushing in a couple weekends. Lucas wanted him to get a bid because he knew it would mean so much to Taeyong, but he was selfishly worried that he’d lose his friend to Greek Life if things went well. When Taeyong deposited himself in Lucas’s lap, Lucas let his arms wrap around him, pulling him close. He basked in the gentle sweep of products over his cheekbones and eyes, loving the delicate attention from one of his favorite people. 

“I’m going to miss you when the frats eat you.”

“Mmmm, I’m going to miss you when you make new friends too, baby.”

“You guys are gross.”

“Mork, you’re too drunk to chime in. Either join the love fest here or go charge your vibe. Or lubricate your fleshlight. Or whatever it is you do to masturbate.”

“Yes, I’m the weird one.” Mark grumbled, draping himself over Lucas’s back. 

Taeyong reached up, petting through Mark’s hair. “You are the virgin, that does make you the statistical outlier here.”

“And the Canadian!” Lucas chimed in. He hated stats class, but he liked using ratios to pick on Mark. It was just too easy.

“Okay, before you make me feel like the third wheel for the billionth time… should we get going?”

Lucas nodded happily. He felt a bit like a bobble head. It must be nice to be a bobble head— agreeing with people and headbanging with none of the headaches. 

“I kind of feel like a bobble head.”

“I’ll be the dashboard dancer girl then. Markie can be our little troll doll.” Taeyong gently nudged Lucas and Mark out of the door, checking his pockets for his ID card.

“Ooh, that’s what we should be for Halloween next year!”

“I thought you wanted to be the Sleeping Beauty fairies next year.”

“Oh right…” Mark chewed his lip as they began the trek across campus. It looked like his thinking was a painful business. “We should just write down our ideas and decide when we get back next year.”

“Twenty bucks says he’s hoping to do a couple’s costume with not-his-man next year.”

Taeyong hit him, “Be nice, if he wants to reserve a night for not-his-man, then that’s his prerogative.”

“I’m still partial to Alice in Wonderland theme. That way, if we want more people to join, they just have to pick a character!”

Mark nodded sagely. “Do you ever think that we wouldn’t care this much if we had better things to discuss while freezing our asses off?”

“Possibly. But unless you want to hear about how Lucas fucked my brains out this week, it’s up to you to choose the subject.”

“Why?” Mark wailed, “Why are my two best friends fucking? I’m too pure and innocent for this.”

“Is this coming from the boy who said he likes choking himself while masturbating?”

Mark promptly shoved Lucas off the road, barking out a laugh when Lucas tripped over the curb and into the guard rails.

“You know, this is why most people don’t walk in the middle of the road.” Taeyong had his arms out, balancing on the very edge of the sidewalk, as if he were some paragon of logic and reason.

Lucas was saved from coming up with a response when a flock of girls descended on them. They were wearing even less than Taeyong, and he ruefully surrendered his jacket to Minnie and Yuqi at the first sign of puppy eyes. They’d be getting him drinks the rest of the night, the least he could do was keep them warm. 

Nearing the senior apartments, the pounding bass and flashing lights promised a variety of rooms and parties to choose from. Lucas wrapped his arms around as many of his group as he could and led the way into the closest one. 

For the rest of the night, Lucas lost himself in the crush of bodies. Stumbling to makeshift dorm bars and chasing shots with dubious jungle juice. Shoving a path to the windows for the slight breeze that kept the rooms from becoming truly stifling. He let his friends pull him along from one party to the next, writhing and gyrating with anyone and everyone the girls wanted to dance with. It was easy, letting his presence protect his friends while their enthusiasm and light kept him engaged and amused. 

He experienced things in moments and flashes of clarity: Mark getting tackled by a boy with a radiant smile, then waving goodbye as he was pulled to a different building, snow clinging to his shirt; Taeyong’s breath hot and wet in his ear as he promised to text Lucas if he planned to spend the night with his one night stand; Yuqi and Shuhua slipping away blowing everyone kisses while their free hands roamed freely over one another. By 3am he had the rest of the girls back in their dorms with water and painkillers. His jacket had been repurposed as a pillow for Soyeon, and she scared him enough that he had no intention of asking for it back until she was sober. Plus, it seemed to make her happy— who was he to take that away? Blowing on his hands, he quickly shuffled across East Quad to his dorm, thanking the housing lottery gods for keeping him and Taeyong near most of the rest of their friends. 

After a long shower to revive his frozen fingers, he tidied up his and Taeyong’s room from their pregame earlier. He put the alcohol back on top of the mini fridge and dragged the recycling and trash out. He scrubbed off the sticky spilled drinks from the counter and washed their cups in the bathroom sink. Then he stacked Taeyong’s makeup palettes in size order and set them in the appropriate bin on Taeyong’s side of the mirror. He took a few painkillers with Mark’s last, unfinished White Claw then clambered into his lofted bed with his phone, an apple, and a bottle of water.

He scrolled through his contacts to find Taeyong and make sure he was alright. He noticed that Ten had added himself and Taemin to Lucas’s contacts list. Chewing sleepily on the fruit, he remembered Ten flinging stray apple pieces at Jongin and Taemin the day before. They’d all made sure every piece was accounted for before they left for the night. Lucas liked that. He idly wondered what they were all up to. Did they go out too? Were there Dance department parties that Taeyong avoided to spend time with him and Mark? Did Taemin laugh and smile in that gentle, vulnerable way when the rest of campus wasn’t watching? 

Opening a new chat, he took a picture of his half-eaten apple.

Lucas: Want any 10? I saved you the best part! 

Before he could overanalyze it, he sent the picture to the new group message and set his phone beneath his pillow. Just as he fell asleep, he swore he smelled a hint of coffee wafting through the room.

**Author's Note:**

> YAYAYAY you made it!! 
> 
> NOW- I write cause I absolutely love it. But if you liked this, please please leave a comment and / or a kudos!! Cause honestly, it just makes me happy! 
> 
> Tags will be updated as I write, and I'm pretty fairly absolutely certain that this will end up as explicit
> 
> Come yell at / with me on Twitter if you want! @RoseCallisa (though I honestly mostly hype up other authors and my cat there...)
> 
> Playlist you ask? I don't have Spotify but I just had Taemin on shuffle. The end result is that I probably ended up spending more time couch dancing than writing this. I don't regret it.


End file.
